Coffin-fastener



(No Model.)

J. H. SCOTT 82; S. NELSON. GOFFIN FASTENER.

No. 416,302. Patented Dec. 3,1889.

null H UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH HARRY SCOTT AND SAMUEL NELSON, OF SAN FRANCISCO,

CALIFORNIA.

/ COFl-IN-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,302, dated December 3, 1889.

Application filed August 16, 1889- Serial No. 320,944, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOSEPH HARRY SCOTT and SAMUEL NELsoN, citizens of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful Fastener for the Sight-Panels of Caskets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to fasteners for the sight-panels of caskets; and among the objects in View are to provide a sight-panel which by reason of its fastening may be noiselessly removed and replaced without the use of screws or other harsh grating devices, said device being simple and cheap in construction and noiseless and eflicient in operation.

With these general objects in view the invention consists in certain features of construction hereinafter specified, and particularly pointed out in the claims. ,Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the head portion of a casket provided with a sight-closing panel constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the lid and panel. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of the panel 5 Fig. 4, a detail in perspective; Fig. 5, aplan of the blank after cutting'and before bending. Fig. 6 is a detail in transverse section of the lid.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 represents the casket-lid provided at its head portion with the sight-opening 2, the bottom edge of which in this instance is beveled or undercut, as at 3, and the upper surface of the lid at its upper end is provided with an annular plate 4, perforated, as at 5, for the reception of screws 6, and set into an annular recess 7 in the lid, and provided, also, with an oblong opening 8, which takes over and partially closes by its edges an opening 9, formed in the casket-lid.

10 represents a sight-closin g panel, and the same is provided upon its under surface and near opposite sides thereof with rearwardlydisposed substantially L-shapcd hooks 11. The hooks 11 may be formed of sheet metal, as shown, and perforated, as at 12, along the shank for the reception of screws 13, passing therethrough into the panel, the foot of the L being arranged at an oblique angle to the shank, as at 14, so as to take under the undercut or beveled edge of the sight-opening of the lid.

15 represents a blank formed of spring sheet metal; and the same consists of a securing-plate portion or head 16, from which there extends a shank 17. The head portion 16 is provided with screw-receiving openings 18 and with a U-shaped slit 19, forming a tongue 20, which is bent upwardly from the slit and out of a plane with the head. The shank is also provided with a struckup tongue 21, disposed in the same direction as is the tongue 20, and forward of its tongue said shank terminates in a thumb-plate 22, having an eye 23,111 which is mounted an operating-tassel 24. The shank at its juncture with the head is folded over and parallel with the head, so that a screw-opening 25, formed in the shank near the juncture, will register with the screw-opening 18 within the head, and the tongue 20 of the head will be disposed rearwardly and that of the shank in an opposite direction. A recess 26 is formed in the under surface and at the upper end of the lid, said recess being of an oblong shape in plan, and in the same is mounted the fastener, as described,the edges of which are perforated, as at 27, for the reception of screws 28, which, in addition to a screw 29,

inserted through the openings 18 and 25,-

maintain the fastener in position, the tongue or shank portion lying within the oblong recess and under the plate, the opposite side edges of the latter overlapping the oblong recesses.

To operate our invention, the panel is inserted over the opening, the forward end of the panel projecting over the front edge of the lid, when by sliding the panel to the rear the hooks will take under the undercut edge of the side opening and the struck-up tongue 20 will take within the oblong recess of the annular plate upon the head of the lid, and by reason of the inclination of the tongue said panel will be drawn snugly down upon the lid and over the opening, and the spring-shank will force the remaining tongue 21 down under the opposite or forward edge of said opening, which edge will engage small spurs 29, formed upon the forward or free edge of the tongue. To remove the panel, it is simply necessary to press upon the under surface of the thumb-plate or draw upwardly upon the tassel, which will disengage the tongue 21, and the panel may be slid forward until the hooks are withdrawn from under the undercut edge of the side opening and the tongue 20 from without the annular plate, the operations of removal and replacing taking place in a noiseless manner.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. The combination, with a lid having a sight-opening, of a panel provided with means for retaining its rear end upon the lid and at its forward end with a recess, and a fastener mounted within the recess and comprising an immovable reamvardly disposed inclined tongue and an oppositely-disposed movable spring-actuated tongue, said tongues being arranged in line with each other, and a slotted plate mounted in the lid and adapted to engage the tongues, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with a lid having a sight-opening, of a panel mounted over the same and provided at its forward end with a fastener formed of spring sheet metal and bent to form a securing-plate fastened to the lid and a central rearwardly-disposed inclined rigid tongue and to form a shank, and a tongue formed in said shank and projecting therefrom in a direction opposite to therigid tongue, and a slotted plate mounted in the lid near the forward edge of the opening and adapted to engage said tongues, substantially as specified.

The combination, with a lid having an opening, of a panel, the forward undersurfacc of which is recessed, and of the herein described fastener, consisting of a plate overlapping the edges of the recess and perforated at its side and secured thereto by screws and having a struck-up inclined rigid tongue and a shank projecting from one end of a plate and bent over upon and beyond the op posite edge thereof and terminating in a thumb-plate and provided intermediate its ends with an inclined struck-up tongue terminating in spurs, and a receiving-plate having an opening mounted over a recess in the lid, adapted to receive the tongues, substantially as specified.

1. The herein-described fastener formed from a blank 15, which consists in a securing-plate portion or head 16 and a shank 17, both the head and the shank provided with tongues 20 21, the said tongues being disposed at angles opposite to each other, and said shank being extended outward and forming a thumb-plate 22, for the purpose set forth.

In testimonythat we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto aifixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH HARRY SCOTT. I SAMUEL NELSON. Witnesses:

WALTER B. JONES, CHAS. F. WAGNER. 

